After 20 years of work as a teacher, in an attempt to gather savings to open a restaurant with a gourmet menu, Catia Tavares, 49, achieves her goal. However, a month after opening her establishment, she is forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As if the situation wasn't bad enough, Catia was denied her loan after presenting all the documents requested by the financial institution. According to her perspective, her color had a negative influence, claiming that there were no open doors for a black and peripheral woman. On the other hand, a white woman who lives in a place considered high would have infinitely more chances of having her loan accepted.
see more
Ninth economy on the planet, Brazil has a minority of citizens with…
White goods: see which products the government wants to reduce…
According to a survey by Sebrae/FGV regarding the impact of the pandemic on small businesses, characteristics by sex and color show that 45% of black women were denied loans.
In 2021, 20% of small businesses run by black women have seen a decline in income and 36% have outstanding debt or loans. In addition to the pandemic period, many establishments were unable to rebuild, which led 20% of small businesses to bankruptcy, while in the case of white entrepreneurs, the percentage was 13%.
The Agbara fund, from São Paulo, is aimed at fighting for the economic rights of black women, and has helped with financial contributions, training and mentoring. There are already approximately 1,800 services directed at 500 women around Brazil. Fortunately, Catia is one of them. “It's much more than just financial help, it's support,” she says.
The humanitarian fund is supported by more or less 250 monthly donors, who provide an approximate value of R$ 30 reais to R$ 35 reais, so that a total of R$ 150 thousand have already been raised. Conceived by Aline Odara, aged 35, the fund came about when she decided to do a crowdfunding, with the intention of providing help to a friend in the purchase of a sewing machine.
Initially, the project was something voluntary, but the resources received now make it possible to pay and invest in other ways to produce revenue.
Racism regrettably affects entrepreneurship, as most businesses headed by black women have a shorter tenure. According to the survey by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), carried out by Sebrae-SP together with the Instituto Brazilian Institute for Quality and Productivity (IBQP), black and brown women who own their own businesses add up to 1.7 millions.
Of these, approximately 1.3 million entrepreneurs are in the initial stages of their businesses. However, only 400,000 women are already signed and stabilized, with a period greater than 3 and a half years of activity.
If we analyze it, black women represented 20% of initial entrepreneurs and 18.1% of total entrepreneurs in the state of São Paulo. According to the 2019 IBGE/Pnad, black women (black and brown) represent just over 20% of the state's population.
In current times, there is a need to undertake and start businesses, but often there is no educational support or enough information to manage a company in a stable way, reports Adriana Barbosa, president of PretaHub.
Moreover, systemic and structural racism directly interferes in the lives of working women. In addition, there is also the erroneous reading regarding the black female ability to lead a company.
Adriana suggests three strategies to change this situation, such as recognizing black entrepreneurship in Brazil, having ways to move forward and beyond the glass ceiling of the micro, and have systemic and intelligent ways to fight inequality.
